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James Tomasson

Thesis Working Title

Agas and Wooden Flooring: Case Studies in Consumption, Routine and Rural Heritage

Research Interests

Supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Shove and Dr. John Urry

PhD Thesis Abstract:

Previous studies of consumer products associated with rural heritage have primarily considered them in one of two ways: either as symbols signalling their owner's class or as yet another example of consumers being "duped" by manufacturers and marketers and engaging in nostalgia-fuelled consumption. What is frequently overlooked in such discussions, however, is the routine ways in which such objects are utilised on daily basis.

Grounded in debates about the uncertain, risky, and accelerating character of contemporary social life, this thesis utilises radiant cookers and wooden flooring as case studies to investigate how certain goods reminiscent of the past might actively stabilise the lives of owners and their families. Specifically, it compares the physical features and resulting practices of reclaimed timber flooring and radiant cookers with those of their less conspicuous counterparts (laminate flooring and conventional cookers and microwave ovens). Whilst acknowledging that the significance of class can never be fully disentangled from studies of consumer culture, by following the life course of these objects from the demolition site and factory floor into retailer's showrooms and into owners' homes, the thesis reveals the significantly more complex role such objects play in patterns and practices of everyday life.

Publications

Review of 'Dirt: New Geographies of Cleanliness and Purity' Ben Campkin & Rosie Cox (eds), Journal of Rural Studies (Dec 2009)

Awards and Certifications

2007: Postgraduate Certificate of Achievement in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Awarded by Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, Lancaster University

2005-2008: Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

Conferences and Presentations

Tomasson, J. - September 2, 2009: 'Transforming Domestic Temporalities: Radiant Cookers, the Rural Idyll, and 'Simple' Living'. Paper given at 'Objects - What Matters? Technology, Value and Social Change' conference. Hosted by Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, Manchester

Tomasson, J. - June 30, 2009: ' 'Adaptable' and 'Durable': Contradictions in the Materiality of Decorative Wooden Flooring'. Paper given at Sociology Summer Conference, Lancaster University

Tomasson, J. - April 16, 2009: 'Making Things 'Simple': Temporality, Home Life and Heat-Storage Cookers'. Paper given at Annual Conference of the British Sociological Association, Cardiff, Wales

Tomasson, J. - July 7, 2008: 'Manufacturing Decay, Replicating Authenticity: Timber Flooring and Baudrillard's 'model/series' distinction'. Paper given at Sociology Summer Conference, Lancaster University

Tomasson, J. - March 10, 2008: 'Reclaiming and Replicating Rusticity: An Investigation into Mass-Produced "Handcrafted" Commodities'. Paper given at Material Cultures Seminar series, Lancaster University

Tomasson, J. - December 4, 2007: 'Ideas of Jean Baudrillard related to wood flooring'. Invited Guest Speaker for Advanced Undergraduate Seminar Series, Lancaster University

Tomasson, J. - July 7, 2007: 'The Aga as an Anchor: Temporality, Hectic Living and the traditional English countryside'. Paper given at Sociology Summer Conference, Lancaster University

Would like to meet

Advertising, consumption, domesticity, material culture, practice theory, rural heritage, technology and time.

Other Interests and Hobbies

2010: Co-ordinator, Research Student Events, Lancaster University

2010: Student Ambassador, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

2009: Research Associate, 'Mobility Futures in a Digital Economy'. Pilot Project funded by Innovative Media for a Digital Economy, Lancaster University

2008: Organiser, 3rd Annual Sociology Intellectual Party, Lancaster University

2008-Present: Contributor, The Sociologist Newsletter, Lancaster University

2008: Organiser, 'Making Space for Time' Conference, Lancaster University

2007: Organiser, 2nd Annual Sociology Intellectual Party, Lancaster University

2007-2008: Organiser, Department of Sociology Seminar Series, Lancaster University

2006: Organiser, 1st Annual Sociology Intellectual Party, Lancaster University

2004-2005: MA Student Representative, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University